Dave Potter holds lead over Del Piero in Monterey County supervisor race

Update: The final election night update from the Monterey County Elections Office at 4:24 a.m. Wednesday showed Supervisor Dave Potter's lead growing to 2,414 votes, with 100 percent of votes counted, although the elections office warned via Facebook that they still had "tens of thousands" of votes remaining to be counted. The next update is not expected until Friday, officials said.

Supervisor Dave Potter built a slight edge over challenger Marc Del Piero in early returns Tuesday night in the hotly contested 5th District supervisorial race.

With a little more than a quarter of all votes counted, Potter led Del Piero by about 906 votes out of more than 20,000 counted as of 11 p.m.

Potter, who held court at a rowdy election night party at My Attic in downtown Monterey, said he was pleased with the trend in the early results but he wasn't taking anything for granted.

"It's a nice early trend and we think it's a positive indicator," he said. "There's a lot of good feeling here and hopefully the trend continues."

Del Piero, who held his election night party at the Golden Tee Restaurant at Monterey Regional Airport, said he expected a tight race and predicted it would be some time before a winner was declared.

"With all the late votes, it could be weeks before we know who the winner is," he said. "We're very pleased with our campaign. We spoke with a lot of people on the Monterey Peninsula. We believe they're ready for a change."

Potter, seeking his fifth term on the Board of Supervisors, and Del Piero, who served as a supervisor for three terms starting in the early 1980s, are locked up in one of the most fascinating local political contests in recent memory.

The campaigns raised about $600,000 in one of the costliest races in county history, which featured both candidates appearing in a series of TV ads. The race caused divisions within the local Democratic and Republican party organizations, LandWatch Monterey County and the Camel Valley Association.

Despite amassing support from traditional Democratic and GOP forces, Potter was heavily criticized for his backing of the controversial Monterey Downs equestrian-themed development on Fort Ord proposed by developer Brian Boudreau, his ties to development interests and his perceived failings on the failed regional desalination project.

Del Piero, a longtime Republican official, was bolstered by an endorsement from the Green Party and nearly $150,000 from Julie Engell's slow-growth nonprofit North Salinas Valley Fund for Responsible Growth. He touted his experience with water law, including a stint on the state water board, promised to oppose irresponsible development.

A contentious June primary battle, which included Pacific Grove Mayor Carmelita Garcia, set the stage for a bruising, months-long campaign after Del Piero edged Potter by a handful of votes.

District 1

Fernando Armenta looked to be on his way to retaining the District 1 county supervisor seat he has held since 2001. If Armenta's early lead holds over Salinas City Councilman Tony Barrera, this will be his fourth term as supervisor.

"To me, it's an honor and a privilege to be an elected official. I take it very seriously and I believe it's very important that I live up to the high standards that people bestow upon me, maintaining high ethics and being very responsive," Armenta said at a small election night party at Tacquita's Mexican restaurant in Salinas. "People expect me to be the strongest fighter, to address their needs, and to formulate strategies that are going to make a significant difference in their lives."

Armenta said his highest priorities in the next four years, if he is re-elected, include addressing gang violence in Salinas on an effective, strategic level and advocating a low-income health care plan for 50,000 uninsured people in Monterey County.

"There's a lot of unfinished work for me to do on various levels," he said. "I believe I've been very effective by going back to Washington and fighting for the city of Salinas for 20 years, working on gang prevention, gang intervention and also advocating for health care."